So in case anyone is interested I was able to add my HSBC UK Visa Debit card to apple pay here in nz

How much are you docked in fees and double conversion of funds though?

I am heading to the UK for four weeks and will reactivate my NatWest account and link Applepay while there and spending Pounds, but not sure I want to load pounds from $NZ and pay transaction charges for every swipe here?

Yes I should have put a caveat on those comments to watch out for the fees. You think the NZ banks know how to charge the UK banks are masters at it!. So its more of a just in case thing. From memory I spent I think about 800 quid on a thing over here and by mistake used my UK card and was hit with a 25 quid conversion fee. So watch out there. My bank here is ASB which I think is owned by OZ Commonwealth? They were pretty aggressive maybe they will get on the apple pay soon?

Is an English Man living in New Zealand. Not a writer, an Observer he says. Graham is a seasoned 'traveler" with his sometimes arrogant, but honest opinion on life. He loves the Internet!.

Yes ASB are owned by commenwealth bank in OZ and that's the real reason we don't have Apple Pay. The keeping an eye on development statement is just a load of crap. The reason ASB customers don't have it and nor do the likes of westpac is here http://www.arnnet.com.au/article/608685/aussie-banks-say-no-free-ride-apple-pay/

I tried to setup apple pay on my ANZ credit card, but found out they don't allow it on business credit cards. Not sure why. But I hope it is rolled out with other banks as I have a personal visa credit cards with other banks. Although it is a gimmick as I always have my wallet with me anyway, it would be cool to try it out.

Thank goodness. The ACCC allowing the big 4 banks to form their "cartel" to negotiate (pointlessly as they would never get anywhere) with Apple would have only slowed Down Apple Pay for their customers considerably.

Hopefully they will accept defeat move on from this quickly and get Apple Pay out there and not go down the lengthy appeal route.

It will be interesting to see how things go and how quickly NZ banks follow suit. I am of course presuming NZ banks were waiting for this decision from the ACCC also. I could be completely wrong and they may be able to act alone and roll out Apple Pay sooner than their Aussie owners.

Hopefully they will accept defeat move on from this quickly and get Apple Pay out there and not go down the lengthy appeal route.

What makes you assume that? There is no motive or reason for them to do this.

Apple need the Australian bands more than they need Apple. The big banks simply ignoring Apple in the most developed contactless payments market in the world is only going to hurt Apple.

I disagree 100%. I think people have more loyalty to Apple and the iOS ecosystem than they do to their bank – it's easy enough to switch to ANZ, especially if you don't have a mortgage that you'd need to re-fix etc..

There are also now 4,000,000 potential additional Apple Pay users in Australia as Apple made a deal with "more than 30 small banks and credit unions across Australia".

I disagree 100%. I think people have more loyalty to Apple and the iOS ecosystem than they do to their bank – it's easy enough to switch to ANZ, especially if you don't have a mortgage that you'd need to re-fix etc..

There are also now 4,000,000 potential additional Apple Pay users in Australia as Apple made a deal with "more than 30 small banks and credit unions across Australia".

With interchange rates slashed in Australia the big banks aren't going to give up the cut that Apple want.

Apple's ACCC submission showed how little Apple really understand about the payments market in Aistralia. Australia leads the world in contactless payments, and the banks don't need an American company to try and tell them how having Apple pay will grow the market. Like the ISP market there is plenty of choice and if people are such fanboi's that they have to have Apple Pay then they can go and join a bank that offers it.